Lucknow. In view of possible arson, road accidents and other emergency situations during Diwali and Chhath Puja, all government and autonomous medical colleges of the state have been instructed to remain in alert mode. As per the priority of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Medical Education Department has made arrangements to keep emergency medical services active 24 hours a day in all the medical colleges and their affiliated hospitals. The objective is that during festivals, no person has to wander for emergency treatment and can get immediate medical care if needed.
Director General Medical Education and Training Neha Sharma has issued detailed guidelines in this regard. These include review of deployment of doctors and paramedical staff, availability of medicines and medical equipment, oxygen supply and disaster management preparedness.
Emergency and trauma centers will remain active 24 hours
Life saving services including Emergency Department, Trauma Centre, ICU, Burn Unit, Anesthesia, Surgery and Operation Theater will remain operational round the clock in all medical colleges and affiliated hospitals. Patients arriving in emergency will be immediately examined and first aided. Along with prioritizing treatment according to the severity of the patients, instructions have also been given to keep additional beds and medical resources ready.
Duty of doctors and paramedical staff fixed
During festivals, duty roster of doctors, nursing personnel and technical staff in Emergency, Trauma Centre, ICU, Burn Unit, Anesthesia, Surgery, Orthopedics, Medicine and Radiology departments will be prepared. Along with ensuring timely attendance of everyone, additional staff will also be deployed if needed.
Medicines and life saving equipment will be examined
Medical colleges have been asked to maintain adequate stock of essential and life-saving medicines, injections, dressing materials, suturing materials and emergency treatment kits. The availability and functionality of all essential equipment including oxygen cylinder, ventilator, monitor, defibrillator and suction machine will be checked. Adequate availability of blood and blood components will also be ensured by coordinating with blood banks.
Referral system will be effective for serious patients
If there is a need to send serious patients to higher level medical institutions, coordination will be established in advance. Instructions have been given to ensure that there is no unnecessary delay in the referral process along with providing ambulance and necessary medical assistance to the patient.
Preparation to deal with arson and mass accidents
Fire safety arrangements will be inspected at sensitive places including emergency departments, ICUs, operation theatres, oxygen plants, electrical panels, laboratories and hostels of medical colleges. Along with checking the functionality of fire alarm and fire fighting equipment, it has been asked to keep the exit routes and staircases of hospitals free from obstructions.
Apart from this, every medical college will have to review and update its disaster management plan. An action plan will be prepared to deal with situations like simultaneous arrival of a large number of injured, road accidents, arson and stampede. Under the triage system, priority for treatment will be decided according to the severity of the injured.
Keep an eye on cleanliness and oxygen supply also
There will be regular monitoring of cleanliness, infection control, drinking water, electricity, backup power and oxygen supply in hospitals. Instructions have been given to exercise special vigilance in sensitive areas like burn units, ICU and operation theatres. The oxygen plant and pipeline system will also be examined.
Nodal officers will monitor the arrangements
The Director General has directed Principals, Directors and Chief Medical Superintendents of Medical Colleges to personally review all preparations. As per the need, a senior officer will be designated as the nodal officer, who will keep an eye on the duty roster, resources and emergency arrangements. In case of negligence in following the instructions, accountability of the concerned officer and employee will be fixed.